Those Moments: Long Ago
by animewatchers186
Summary: Prequel to 'That Moment Long, Long Ago'. How Rena met Yusei's dad (Kiyoshi Fudo). An EXTREMELY long one-shot. T for slight swearing


**This is a sort-of prequel for my story That Moment Long, Long Ago. Please check it out if your confused! BTW, I made Rena a pyschic duelist, so she is running away from Arcadia. For the people who don't understand whats going on.**

**Luna: And as another note, Cat is British, so sometimes her spelling might be a bit different. She had tried to put as many notes to different words as possible, for the American readers**

* * *

The heavy rain made her clothes stick to her skin. Her soaked trainers slapped against the grey road as she gasped for breath. She was trying to keep as much distance between herself and the looming black skyscraper that stood out from the rest of its tall companions. It was once full of promise and hope. Now, it reeked of evil and despair.

Her head spun and her heart beat irregularly. She hadn't been running for very long, but she was sweating like she had been running a marathon. Her pale skin was now tinted with a green hue and her cobalt eyes were clouded. Rena was ill. Very ill.

She flopped down on a doorstep, too queasy to continue. The doorstep was set at such an angle, she couldn't see the skyscraper. She was slightly paranoid that they would see her, even from that distance.

She rested her head on the green wood, deciding to sleep for the night. If she was found, she could easily move onto another one. She closed her eyes and fell asleep.

She slept soundly through the night not realising that there was movement from inside the house. Inside, Kiyoshi Fudo pulled on his lab coat and felt around for his car keys. He was never a morning person, so doing a night shift made him a living zombie. Finding them, he opened his front door. And tripped over something on his doorstep.

He groaned, vowing to clean the pavement in the morning. It was disgusting close up. He turned his head to see a girl his age lying on the step, trying to leave.

"Sorry," she whispered "I'll go"

"Wait," he said, quickly standing, sensing something was amiss. "Are you alright?"

"I'm fine" she muttered, trying to stumble off.

"No you are not" he said, grabbing her wrist. "Come In here, I'll look after you."

She tried to shake his gentle but firm grip. She looked into his light blue eyes, sensing calm and worry. He wasn't going to hurt her. But she had to get away from the city as soon as possible.

"Really I'm-"she slumped to the ground, exhausted. She tried desperately to get up, but her legs failed her. "Can I stay for just a little while?" she whispered, her vision dimming.

He nodded and carried her bridal-style to the spare bedroom and laid her on the bed. She curled up and immediately fell asleep.

* * *

Kiyoshi nursed the girl back to almost-perfect health, not knowing who she was or where she came from. On the third day of her recovery, she managed to bath herself and watch TV. A vast improvement compared to the semi-conscious rag-doll two days before.

"Ah! You seem to be better!" Kiyoshi called as he came down from his bedroom on the forth day. Rena smiled and passed him a plate of bacon and eggs.

"Yes! I can't remember the last time I had a real breakfast!" Kiyoshi cheered, sitting down at the table and tucking in. "It's like Christmas!"

Rena rolled her eyes and sat down on the chair opposite him, with a small toasty.

"Hey, aren't you going to eat something bigger? You're a stick! Here have some of mine!" he said, pushing his plate towards her. She smiled, but shook her head.

"No thanks," she whispered. "I'm not that hungry and your cheese was going to go out of date anyway… So was the bacon… And the eggs… And the milk in your fridge is turning to cheese…"

Kiyoshi blushed at how hopeless his cooking was. He never actually opened the fridge, let alone use anything in it.

"So, my nameless friend, how are you feeling?"

"Better…" Rena trailed off, wondering what to say next. "The name's Rena by the way."

"Rena? Cool… I like that name!" Kiyoshi said. "Thanks for appearing on my door step, Rena. I get to miss work!"

"Shouldn't you go? To work, I mean"

"What? Nah. It's well paid and it's interesting but the hours are long and I am on the night shifts this month"

"Oh dear" Rena smirked. "The dreaded night shift"

"Yeah, and meetings and research hour and _lunch _hour! It's too long!" Kiyoshi said, wringing his hands.

"Well, you go to work and I'll look after the house. If you leave some cash, I'll go buy some food for dinner. Food _in date_." She said. "I'll also clean the house."

"But you're not well!" Kiyoshi wailed, objecting to the whole idea.

"How else am I going to repay you for letting me stay here?" Rena asked. "Besides, I'm well enough. You go and I _promise _I'll be here when you get back."

Kiyoshi slumped, defeated. He finished his breakfast and pulled on his lab jacket.

"I've put my mobile number into the home phone if you need to call me" he said, placing his mobile in his pocket. "I'll lock the front door, heres a back door key if you need to get out. Just go to the corner shop if you need food."

Rena nodded, pulling a mop and a bucket. She fixed him with a big smile.

"Hurry home, ok? I'll be lonely with out you!" Kiyoshi's heart went out to the stranger, locked in his house all alone, doing the housekeeping…

He locked the front door behind him and started walking down the street. Unintentionally, he kept on looking back at the front door, wondering if she was ok. He shook himself angrily. He had left two minutes ago.

Suddenly, a black limo crawled up beside him.

"Hey dude! Wanna lift!?" Rex Goodwin asked, his head appearing from the window.

"Umm.. No thanks guys, I'll just-" Kiyoshi began, only to be interrupted by Roman, Rex's older brother, picking him up and throwing him in the back seat.

"Lets go" Roman shouted to the chauffer and they drove off.

* * *

Rena wiped the sweat off her forehead, placing the mop back in the bucket. After Kiyoshi had left, she made the discovery that his floor wasn't grey, it had actually been white. She spent the whole morning returning it to its former glory. Rena then found a family of mice, living in the cheese cupboard. She placed them into a box and released them into the garden.

She cleaned the windows and swept the stairs, made the beds and wiped the chairs, cleaned the bathroom and the TV, finally making the house a sight to see.

She then went to the phone and texted Kiyoshi (his home phone could text!) asking what he wanted for dinner. He texted back that he didn't mind, just so long as she liked it.

Just after lunch, she meandered over to the corner shop and bought some chicken and some vegetables and some more milk. It was a warm day, the warmth lifted her spirits. She looked over at the skyscraper and stuck her tongue out. She wasn't scared any more.

After, she sat and watched Duel TV until she fell asleep.

* * *

Kiyoshi glared at Roman and then Rex, wondering why they had just abducted him. Rex smiled innocently, but Roman looked like he was going to a funeral. He scowled and was wearing black. It was his day off. He was dropping his little brother off at the labs.

"So, Kiyoshi." Roman began, looking back at the worried man. "Why did you miss the night shift?"

Kiyoshi rolled his eyes. He had skipped the night shift because he was looking after Rena, leaving Roman on his own. And Roman looked angry.

"Sorry, I was… Ummm… I was…" he stammered, pondering if he should tell them what happened or make it up. "Something came up"

"What came up?" Rex asked. Rex was very nosy. He would probably be a good politician, if he wanted to be.

"Something private" Kiyoshi snapped at him, deciding not to tell the brothers.

The car pulled up outside the labs. Rex jumped out, a big smile on his face. For some unknown reason, he adored his work. Probably because he was offered it when he was still in high-school. Now a graduated university student, he was ready to face the world.

"So, Kiyoshi, you're doing the night shift tonight, right?" Roman asked dangerously. Kiyoshi sighed and decided to tell them the truth.

"No I won't, I'll give it to Hakashi. You two can come over to my place tonight and I'll show you what happened. It's not what you think."

"Sure!" they said.

* * *

Five hours later, Kiyoshi and the Goodwin brothers were standing outside. He realised that this was probably not the best idea. Unfortunately, he had dug himself a crater-like hole that he could not dig himself out from now.

"Well, are we not going in, Kiyoshi?" Roman asked impatiently.

Kiyoshi nodded and stepped in to be greeted by a very strange sight.

The corridor had been completely cleaned of the trash and the floor had been cleaned.

"W-wow" Rex stared, not believing it. "You got a cleaner? 'Bout time!"

"Y'know Kiyoshi, if you just invited us over just because you have a new cleaner, which I have been telling you to get for the past two years, I will kill you" Rex glared at him. He smiled and threw his hands in the air.

"No, no, it's not that. Come see!" Kiyoshi lead them through to the living room where they found Rena curled up, asleep, hugging the TV remote close to her chest.

"You got a girlfriend?!" Rex shrieked quietly. Kiyoshi's face inflamed.

"No! She was sleeping on my doorstep a few days ago. She was really sick so I took her in and nursed her back to health. I think she's running away from something or someone… But personally, I think God sent her…"

Rex and Roman's eyes widened.

"Kiyoshi…"

"Do you mean you've…?"

Kiyoshi looked at them.

"What? God sent her to clean my house and feed me edible food!"

Rex and Roman anime fell to the ground. They both groaned, wondering how their friend could be so oblivious to everything around him.

Then, Rena yawned and stretched her arms. Straightening her legs she stood up to see two men rolling on the ground and Kiyoshi looking at them in confusion.

"Ah, Kiyoshi, you're back! And the Goodwin brothers! I have enough food for you guys to stay for dinner, if you like!"

"Wait, wait!" Roman said. "How do you know our na-?"

She bustled of to the kitchen to start making the food. She chucked the chicken in the oven and started cutting carrots. Kiyoshi stuck his head around the door to see.

"Chicken!" Kiyoshi cheered. "I haven't had chicken since Uni(*)! This is the best!"

"It's not very hard to please you, is it?" Rena laughed, binning the waste.

Rex stuck his head around the door, underneath Kiyoshi's.

"Not very hard? It's the hardest thing in the world, at work! All he does is glare at me!"

"Well, you are very annoying" Kiyoshi said, looking down at the younger brother. "Anyway, thank you so much, Rena. My house is actually respectable, now"

She smiled as he walked off, to meander over to Roman, who was slouched on the sofa.

"Rena Nozomi Kokoa" he said, his fingers zooming in on his smart-phone. It was a school photograph, Roman had zeroed in on a girl sitting in the back row. She was grinning, her arm slung around a red-headed girl. Rena had three rows of piercings on her right ear, and a long dangling earring on the left. She had orange streaks in her hair and her skirt was hitched so high, you could almost see her underwear.

"She went to Domino high, just like us" Roman continued. "She was the year below us and the year above Rex. You recognise her?"

Kiyoshi couldn't help but chuckle.

"I can't believe I don't recognise her… It's probably because she's lost the earrings and the hair dye. She was a tyrant, wasn't she?"

Roman nodded.

"She's very well known for throwing scissors at Hideo Izinski in S4 (*1)."

At that second Rex came running through, carrying a ladle.

"Kiyoshi! Rena threw a ladle at me!" he wailed, waving the offensive object in his face. Kiyoshi had to duck out the way to avoid getting hit himself.

Rena came out, looking angry. She glared at Rex and said, "Dinners ready"

Kiyoshi ran up to her and gripped her wrist gently.

"Hey, what happened? Why are you so mad at Rex? He's a weirdo, but he's alright…"

"Weirdo? He's a pervert!" Rena half shrieked, stalking back into the kitchen. It was Kiyoshi's turn to glare at Rex, who was now hiding behind his older brother. Roman, for good measure, glared at him too.

Kiyoshi followed her into the kitchen, to find her looking for cutlery. She looked at him, smiled sadly and then tried to get past him. He easily blocked the doorway with his large frame. She looked so small compared to him, bowing her head and shuffling her feet.

"I'm sorry I threw the ladle. He was just staring and then he said…" she shuddered. "I just lost it. He is really annoying. Not changed since school…"

"No, no he hasn't…" Kiyoshi agreed. "Oh, by the way, we looked you up on the net. You went to Domino High? The year below me and Roman?"

She smiled and nodded.

"How did you think I knew your name, without you introducing yourself?"

"I didn't introduce myself?" Kiyoshi stared, amazed at his stupidity.

Rena shook her head.

"Well, my name's Kiyoshi Fumio Fudo," he said, bowing low, grinning. "And now, Madame Kokoa, we shall go have dinner in the great hall!"

"Jerk" was all Rena could say through her laughter. Kiyoshi grabbed her arm and they both skipped into the dining hall, to find Roman waiting for them and Rex facing the wall in the corner. He was in disgrace.

"Rena, I am very sorry about my perverted younger brother, he's an idiot" Roman said bowing low. Rena nodded and they all sat at the table. The food was absolutely delicious, even surprising Rena. Kiyoshi ate too much and Rex and Roman had to drag him to his room for a lie down.

Rex and Roman bid her goodnight and she closed the door behind them. Hearing the lock turn, the men started walking down the street.

"That was very…" Roman said.

"Strange…" Rex concluded.

"Have you ever seen Kiyoshi so…?"

Rex shook his head.

"Do you think…?" Rex said, grinning.

"Oh yeah, so hands off her, Rex. She's Kiyoshi's."

* * *

"I don't wanna go to your work!" was the scream that shook the streets. Everyone turned to see a young man dragging a slightly younger girl backwards by the scruff of her neck. Her shoes made big lines in the pavement.

A few months had passed since Rena had been found on the doorstep.

"Don't make this hard on yourself, Rena!" Kiyoshi chuckled, as he saw the girl flapping in mild distress. It was cruel, but it was very, very funny. And she had brought it on herself.

_A few days before…_

_"Say, Rena? Do you have any qualifications?" Kiyoshi asked, trying to cut a piece of beef._

_Rena looked up from her milkshake and blinked._

_"School qualifications? Ummm… Let's see… I have an A in Japanese, a C in English, A in food studies and A in physics…"_

_Kiyoshi immediately lost interest of his beef and stared at her._

_"You have a physics qualification? Great!"_

_"Why? Why do you need to know?"_

_Kiyoshi squirmed in his seat, wondering how he could word his statement._

_"Well… See… I figured you would get bored sitting around the house all day… So I thought you would like to, y'know, get a job?"_

_Rena blinked, surveying her host with a look of worry. It was very quiet for a few seconds. Then, Kiyoshi realised his fatal error._

_"I'm not trying to get rid of you!" he said, horrified, jumping from his seat and running over. "I just think you'd be bored, here on your own… There's a few jobs available on my team… So… If you'd like… You could work with me…"_

_Rena sighed, unsure._

_"I'll think about it. Thank you, Kiyoshi…"_

"Well, Rena. You thought about it and now, you're coming to work!"

"I didn't give you an answer!"

"Well, I figured you wouldn't want to be cooped up in the house like a house-wife…"

"I'm not a house-wife!"

"Exactly!" Kiyoshi said smiling.

* * *

Three hours later, Rena was sitting at a desk doing some rather complicated physics sums. However, Rena was completing them without much difficulty. The 'planetary particles' seemed like a clever idea for producing power for the whole world. All they had to do was store the power somewhere.

Suddenly, Kiyoshi burst in with a triumphant grin on his face. Rex and Roman followed after him, running to catch up. Kiyoshi picked up a megaphone in the corner of the room.

"Alright, you idiots! I have finally come up with the way to store the energy! So everyone in that department has now officially been fired!" he shouted down the microphone. "Actually, scrap that, I've moved you to the emergency department downstairs"

A group of men collected their belongings and began moving downstairs. Kiyoshi strolled over to Rena and peered over her shoulder.

"Finally someone who knows what she's doing! Thanks Rena! Oh, have you done? Well, your finished for today! You can head back, now!"

Rena stared at the man in amazement.

"What? That's it? How come you have to stay so long, then?"

"Oh, I have to wait for all of these idiots to finish… And that can take hours…" Kiyoshi sagged slightly as he said it. "What I really want is a group of _real_ scientists… All I get is a load of cast-offs from other research groups… Seriously, half of these guys don't even have a degree in physics… Almost all of them don't have a degree in _anything_!"

Kiyoshi slumped down in the seat next to her, sighing.

"So how much does this job pay, out of interest?" Rena asked, trying to keep his mind off it.

"Oh, yeah… I didn't pay you…" Kiyoshi said, going through his briefcase. He pulled out a one hundred note and passed it to her.

"Kiyoshi!" Rena gasped. "I can't take this much!"

"Well, you should. That's your daily pay!" he said.

Rena nearly fell of her chair.

"I get a hundred… per _day!?_"

Kiyoshi nodded, wondering why she was fussing over it so much.

"Oh my god… I could buy my own apartment in, like, three months!"

"Well, give the money back and I'll look after it, so you don't!"

"Awww… You'd miss me?" she asked, teasingly.

"Miss you? Nah, I'd die without you…" he said, trailing off.

Rena blushed and Kiyoshi looked away in embarrassment. They both coughed awkwardly and Kiyoshi stood up.

"I'll see you back at the house, ok?" Kiyoshi said, facing her, stopping by a window.

Suddenly, the sun appeared from behind a cloud, bathing the room in an orange-gold colour. The light hit Kiyoshi, illuminating him and completely taking Rena's breath away.

"Rena? You're staring. Is everything ok?" Kiyoshi asked, completely unaware of Rena's feelings.

Rena shook her head violently and quickly began packing her bag, not making eye contact with him.

"See you back at the house…" she said lowly as she left the building, leaving Kiyoshi staring after her, confused, still glowing in the light.

The second the door closed shut; the sun disappeared behind another cloud, causing the beautiful light to disappear.

* * *

Rena slowly paced back to the house. She kept massaging her head with her finger tips. Why had she thought like that? It's not like Kiyoshi was more than a friend for Rena.

…_But was he?_

Rena, again, shook her head violently, causing her hair to fly around in the slight wind. A few passerby's looked at her concerned and walked to the other side of the road. Rena groaned sitting down on the pavement, rocking backwards and forwards.

How long did she sit there? She had absolutely no idea. It was as if she was arguing with the angel on one shoulder and the devil on the other. Eventually after what seemed like an eternity, she stood up and began walking back again. The setting sun had completely vanished and the moon shone in the sky.

Rena had come to her conclusion, not that she was happy with it.

She had fallen in love with Kiyoshi. She had been for weeks, but only realised when the events happened at the lab.

This is a tiny preview of what Rena was thinking;

NNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNN OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO! (yay!)

* * *

It was late when Kiyoshi eventually returned. He slipped in, expecting Rena to be in bed. However he heard large banging noises coming from the kitchen. He tip-toed over and peered around the doorframe to find-

Rena on her hands and knees, banging her head on a suitcase. Kiyoshi's suitcase. On the case, Rena had stuck a large A2 piece of paper on it with the words written:

O

Bang head here!

"Rena!?" Kiyoshi yelped, running into the room. "What on _earth _are you doing!?"

"Kiyoshi!" Rena screamed, leaping to the other end of the room. "Sorry, you scared me! Welcome home!"

"Welcome home? Rena, you've been bashing your head on my suitcase! Where did you find that!? Whats wrong!?"

"Nothing! Nothing's wrong!" she said, happily. "Well, I'm exhausted! I'm going to bed! See ya!"

She attempted to skip up the stairs, only to be caught around the waist by him. She blushed and squirmed in his grip, trying too get away.

"Rena?" he whispered in her ear, sending shivers up her spine. "Whats wrong? You can tell me."

It took all of Rena's might to shake her head.

"I'm sorry Kiyoshi… But I can't…It's a girl thing…" Rena lied, not telling him.

"Ok… Talking of girls…" Kiyoshi said, trailing off. Rena whipped around, panicked.

"…Shouldn't you meet up with some girlfriends of yours? I mean, you had loads in high school, why not meet up with some of them? Like… Whats her name? Setsuko?"

"Yeah, I guess I could…" Rena whispered, relaxing in his grip. They stood like that for several minutes, enjoying each others company and not wanting to let go.

Rena tried to stifle a yawn but couldn't help it. Kiyoshi sighed and let go of Rena, amused at her unsatisfied expression.

"Go to bed, you need some sleep. You can call your friends in the morning." He whispered, giving her a gentle push up the stairs. Rena ascended the stairs slowly, looking back at Kiyoshi with every step she took. He stayed there, rooted to the spot until she had stepped onto the landing. When only her feet were in sight, he turned, humming 'Just the Way You Are' by Bruno Mars.

Kiyoshi shook his head from side-to-side angrily. Secretly, Kiyoshi had really liked Rena back in _high school, _not because of the short skirts or the piercings but because of her bubbliness and kindness to all. She was eccentric but could tone down when she needed. Of course, for the average high school male, the skirt and the piercings (and the low cut top) were a side benefit.

But Kiyoshi doubted she felt the same. In high school, Kiyoshi was known as a nerd with strange hair. Nothing else. He wasn't sporty, hated breaking the rules and always did as he was told. Rena, on the other hand, had been suspended at least twice.

But the really strange thing about High-school-Rena was that she didn't date anybody. Many guys tried (and failed) to take her out but she would either a) turn away in disgust or b) chuck them out the window. It pleased Kiyoshi that he could have her stay in his house without her trying to kill him.

However, high-school-Kiyoshi had been too terrified to ask Rena out. He really didn't want to get thrown through a window. Looking at Rena now, he doubted she would do something that extreme. But that didn't put him in a better position.

Kiyoshi was just too scared to say that he loved her.

* * *

"Thanks so much for getting in contact, Rena! I've missed you sooooo much!"

"I missed you too, Setsuko" Rena said, walking into the Izinski mansion as Setsuko shut the door. "So, you're living with Hideo, your high school sweetheart?"

Setsuko's ears turned pink as she rummaged around in her chest of drawers.

"Honestly… Where is it? Come out, you little bugger!" Setsuko muttered, throwing sheets of paper in the air. "I am going to set fire to you- Oh! Here it is!"

Setsuko placed a thick cream envelope in Rena's hands. Rena tore it open to find a wedding invitation.

"Oh my God! You're getting married!" Rena screamed, rugby-tackling Setsuko to the ground. "Why didn't you tell me sooner?!"

"Well, I didn't know where you lived! Talking of which, where do you live?"

It was Rena's turn to blush. Setsuko surveyed her friend, suspiciously.

"It's not what you think, Setsuko… I'll tell you… I'm staying with Kiyoshi Fudo-"

"What!?" Setsuko yelped. "As in, nerdy Kiyoshi with the funny hair?!"

Rena nodded. "I was sick and I was running away and I fell asleep on his doorstep and he found me and nursed me back to health and now I'm staying with him and-"

"Woah, woah, woah! Rena, how many 'ands' do you have to have in a sentence? What were you running away from?"

"Arcadia…" Rena whispered. Setsuko nodded, not pursuing the matter.

Then Hideo Izinski popped his head around the door.

"Darling, you're mother is pestering me on the flower arrangements! Do we need flower arrangements?"

"Yes!" Setsuko shouted. "Can you tell her to call back? I've got a friend 'round!"

Hideo's head disappeared for a second, muttering something down the phone. He placed the phone back in the receiver and then came in again.

"Hey, Hideo!" Rena said cheekily. "Long time no see?"

Hideo scowled.

"The last time I saw you, you threw scissors at me!"

"Well, Setsuko did say 'chuck the scissors'!"

"Do you know that when he found out you were coming 'round, he hid all of the scissors?" Setsuko asked, laughing.

"Seriously? Wow, that's what I call trauma!" Rena said, bug-eyeing the man. Hideo scowled and stalked out.

Rena and Setsuko burst into peals of laughter.

"There's only one thing to do now…" Setsuko said gasping, after they had stopped laughing.

"Makeover!" They both screamed as they ran up to Setsuko's room.

* * *

It was a quiet Saturday night. Kiyoshi pulled out a can of Coke and flicked through the TV channels. He wished he hadn't suggested that Rena should go to a friend's house. He was really lonely. And he had only been by himself for a few hours.

He stretched out on the sofa, staring mindlessly at the blurring TV screen. Teleshopping… Teleshopping… Teleshopping… Food channels… Teleshopping… There was nothing good on TV.

Pulling out his book, Kiyoshi settled down to read. However, he was struggling. He could read textbooks fine but when it came to fiction, it was as if he had forgotten how to read. He started reading Harry Potter in Primary school. He was now on the fifth one after more than… What, fifteen years? Granted, Kiyoshi was very busy and didn't get much time to read, but when he did, he would spend half an hour reading one page and then go back and re-read it.

Kiyoshi was half way through the fifth page, when he heard it. A very soft noise…

_Click, Clack, Click…_

It was getting louder and louder. It sounded like it was by his front door.

_Click, Clack, Cli- BANG!_

"OW!" an all-too-familiar voice was heard on the street. There was a scraping in the lock and then Rena came hopping in, clutching her foot. She hopped down the corridor and into the kitchen. Kiyoshi took one look at what she was wearing and hid behind the couch.

Rena was wearing a tight, low cut blouse and a pair of really short denim jeans with florescent orange tights. She was also sporting a pair of ridiculously high dark-blue stilettos. Two of the three piercings had made a recovery but the third one and the one on the left had been left. However, they were both very red, probably meaning that they had sealed up and Rena had tried to put some earrings in anyway. She was also wearing some makeup.

"Ow! Stupid heels!... Or should I blame the doorstep? Hey, Kiyoshi! How're you!?" Rena cheered.

"Rena? What are you _wearing_!?" was all Kiyoshi could ask. He was currently finding himself in a very awkward position.

"I know… I know… But Setsuko insisted! I do love the shoes! Whats wrong? Is it the top? The shorts?"

All Kiyoshi could do was stare in horror/amazement. It eventually clicked in Rena's head.

"Ooohhh! I see! It's _all _of it! Ok! I'll take it off! One second!" she vanished up to her room, only to reappear a few seconds later, in her pyjamas. But the shoes had remained. But in Kiyoshi's case, just so long as the shirt and the shorts weren't there, it was ok.

"Why on _earth _do you do that!?" Kiyoshi asked, amazed. "You look like a… a…"

"A?" Rena asked, curious.

"An idiot!" Kiyoshi said finally. "Why do girls do that to themselves?"

"I don't know… We just do…"

Kiyoshi couldn't help sighing.

"Well you learn something new everyday" Kiyoshi said. "Goodnight, Rena"

* * *

"And tell Roman that he shall succeed me and look after those idiots that call themselves scientists. Rex can double his salary and when I die-"

"Kiyoshi, you are _not _going to die! Now shut up and take this medicine!" Rena scolded, stuffing pills down the poor man's throat.

Kiyoshi was lying in bed, still in his pyjamas. Rena was dressed, ready for work. It was the first time Kiyoshi had fallen ill since she had slept on the doorstep. It was coming on a year ago now. Kiyoshi groaned and rolled over, trying to hide himself from more drugs being forced on him.

When Kiyoshi hadn't come down for breakfast, Rena was sure he was pretending to be ill. He had faked it many times in the past to get out of work but Rena saw through it every time. Unfortunately, this time, he was definitely sick.

Rena sighed, defeated.

"Ok Kiyoshi, I'm going to work now! You can stay at home today and Roman can succeed you for the day! I'll be back as soon as I can!"

Rena grabbed her bag and dashed out, locking the front door behind her.

Several hours later, Kiyoshi was feeling a lot better. The drugs had taken effect and he was now as right as rain. But he still didn't want to go to work. And so, he decided that he would tour his house and see if there was anything needed.

The kitchen; the oven was broken, the living room; a big stain on the carpet from Rena's Fanta, the bathroom; needs replaced, Kiyoshi's bedroom; big crack on the ceiling needed sealed, upstairs bathroom; more cabinets for Rena's… Stuff.

And then the guest bedroom.

Kiyoshi cracked open the door and slid in, wondering what he would find. He hadn't set foot in it since Rena had recovered. He didn't really know what to expect. But he was absolutely amazed by what he saw.

It looked completely ordinary. If it wasn't for Rena's clothes stacked up in neat piles by the bed, he wouldn't have guessed Rena had stayed in this room for a year. Kiyoshi groaned a little at Rena's selflessness. Could she not want _something_? A bedside lamp? A mirror? An en-suite? A walk-in-wardrobe? Just a _wardrobe_?

Kiyoshi sat on her bed, sighing, putting Rena's bedroom at the top of his priority list… A long with the bathroom because that really needed done as well…

Then, something caught his eye. Pulling back the top pillow, he found a small brown book with the word 'Diary' across the front. In his mind, an angel and a devil appeared on his shoulders.

"Don't read that, Kiyoshi!" the angel said, tutting. "That's private, and you probably won't understand a word!"

"Well, if you won't understand it, then it should be ok to read it, right?" the devil drawled. "C'mon man, if you just don't tell her you read it, she'll never know!"

"Shut up! Who asked you?" the angel spat, glaring at the devil.

"Ummm… Kiyoshi did, idiot! See! You can't trust this guy!" he said to Kiyoshi. "He can't see the obvious! And he has wings taped on his back!"

"I was born with these! And my halo was awarded to me after I graduated from Angel High! That tail is made of plastic and the horns are on a headband! And I saw that trident on sale at Asda(*2)!"

"Excuse me! I got these from Tesco!(*3)" the devil shouted back.

Kiyoshi weighed the book in his hands, wondering whether he should read it or not. The angel and devil were not helping.

"Can you guys shut up?!" Kiyoshi mentally thought to his shoulder companions. "Should I read this or not!?"

"No!" the angel said, confidently.

Two other devils appeared on his shoulder, with huge grins and wiggling eyebrows.

"Yes!" they chorused.

Kiyoshi shrugged. "The majority wins!" He flipped open to the first page.

"Are you ins-?" the angel shrieked as he vanished in a puff of white smoke. All the devils did was smirk. Two of them disappeared in a puff of scarlet smoke. The first one stayed behind, reading the first entry of Rena's diary. Kiyoshi looked at it quizzically as it read. They sat in silence for several minutes.

"…Do you really go shopping in Tesco?" Kiyoshi asked.

The devil looked up at him sheepishly.

"Umm….. Bye-bye!" he vanished into a puff of red smoke.

* * *

"Thanks Rena!" Roman shouted from inside the building. "You've been a great help! Kiyoshi'll probably be feeling better now! He's never ill for too long!"

"Bye" Rena said, waving he hand. She then meandered down the street, stopping in at the shops to buy dinner. She trudged home, laden with bags. Opening the door, the first thing she noticed was that it was very quiet.

"Maybe he's sleeping" she muttered. But she quickly realised that he wasn't. He wasn't in bed. He wasn't in the living room. He wasn't in the bathroom. He wasn't in the kitchen. Worried, Rena pulled out her mobile (aka Kiyoshi's spare) and called him. She heard the annoying ringtone of his phone upstairs.

Maybe he had been wandering and fainted? Maybe he had decided to fall asleep in a random place? Or maybe he was hiding from her? Probably. Kiyoshi had the attention span of a five-year-old. He was just trying to amuse himself.

While Rena had been wondering this, she walked up the stairs and down the corridor. She was on auto-pilot. She then realised that the noise had been coming from…

Her room?

Being Kiyoshi's house, Rena knew that he was entitled to go anywhere he liked. But she was worried he would find some of her personal stuff and (unintentionally) scar himself for life. She flew in to find Kiyoshi sitting on her bed, jabbing his phone with his spindly fingers.

"Red button! Red button! Ancient phone, I want to hang up! She'll find… Oh! Hi Rena!" he said sheepishly, waving at her. "How was your day?"

"Good" Rena said slowly, looking around her room in suspicion. She couldn't see anything different, nothing had been disturbed. "What are you doing?"

"Oh, I'm feeling better now! And I was bored, so I toured the house to see what needed replacing and or repair!" He chirped.

"Well, there's nothing wrong here!" she said, now extremely suspicious.

"Yeah, I know! But I thought that you needed a wardrobe! And some cabinets! And maybe a new bed?"

"Thanks Kiyoshi, but it's perfectly fine…"

"Sure?"

"Sure"

Kiyoshi got up and dusted himself down, smiling. He swept past Rena and hurried down the stairs. Rena watched him go, suspicious but sad he left. Arrrggghhh… She was a mess.

Letting her hair loose around her shoulders, Rena looked around the room. Pulling her belt out of her trousers and pulled the zip down slightly, she yanked her shoes off and dumped herself on her bed.

Then, she saw the corner of her diary sticking out from underneath her pillow. She hadn't left it like that this morning, had she?

…Oh Fuck.

Rena hurled herself down the stairs and into the living room where Kiyoshi was watching TV.

"You read my diary?!" she screamed, throwing herself at him.

"Ummm…. No! Of course I didn't!" he said, blocking Rena's punches.

"You did! You did! YOU DID!" she wailed, thumping his chest.

"I'm sorry! I was curious! I won't do it again!"

"That's not the point! How much did you read?" she asked dangerously.

"Well…Y'see… Not much?"

"Oh my god! You read _ALL_ of it?!"

"I am so sorry! Please don't throw me out a window!" he whimpered.

Rena stopped and looked up at him innocently.

"And why would I do that?" she asked, her voice breaking slightly.

"You did it all the time in high school…" Kiyoshi muttered.

"I would never do that to you, Kiyoshi" Rena whispered, resting her head on his chest. Through his shirt, she could feel his body warmth and hear his heart beat. She rested there for a few minutes, listening to it. Kiyoshi slung his arms around her waist, pulling her closer.

"It's irregular." She muttered.

"Sorry?"

"Your heart beat. It's irregular"

Kiyoshi smiled, resting his head on hers. Her hair was soft and smelt like vanilla.

"…Are you sure you read it all?" Rena whispered, looking mortified.

"Every word." Kiyoshi said, pulling back and looking into Rena's eyes. "I love you, Rena"

"I love you too, Kiyoshi" Rena whispered, kissing him lightly.

* * *

5 years later…

Rena twiddled her thumbs nervously while the hairdresser massaged her hair with conditioner.

"So hen, what's the occasion?" the cheery woman asked, shoving Rena's hair in front of her face.

"Oh, I'm getting married in… three hours" Rena glowed. The hairdresser smiled, sensing Rena's happiness.

"Oh really, hen? Wow… You seem younger than me! Now I'm jealous!"

Rena laughed as the hairdresser styled her hair into a fancy bun. Her bangs flew freely around her face and the bun was studded with small pearl hair pins.

"Now be careful while you put your dress on, love" she warned. "It can come out rather easily."

Rena nodded as she handed her some money.

"I'll be careful! Thank you!"

* * *

Kiyoshi wrung his hands nervously, sitting in the living room. Roman stared over at him, while strangling his brother with a necktie.

"Look Rex! It's not my fault you tied it too lose!" he yelled.

Rex gurgled, his hands flailing about, trying to stop his brother from killing him. Kiyoshi smiled at the scene. At least some things hadn't changed. Kiyoshi fingered the lapel of his suit, wondering how he had agreed to a full-scale wedding.

When Kiyoshi proposed to Rena, he had begged her for a small low profile service. Rena, being Rena, had other plans. Rena talked him into a big wedding with the fancy dresses and hair and makeup and everything. Kiyoshi could tell she was having the time of her life.

Then a horrible thought struck Kiyoshi causing him to groan loudly and Rex and Roman turn around to stare at him.

"Kiyoshi? Whats wrong?"

"Roman… What if Rena chose her dress and it was bright _orange_?"

Roman had to fight the urge to laugh at his worried friend. His nerves had gotten in the way of his common sense.

"No, she wouldn't have. You only get married once, Kiyoshi. Rena knows that. And Rena is more the traditional type. She'll be wearing white I bet… Or maybe a light blue?"

"Nah, I like the idea of an orange wedding dress!" Rex piped up. "And Roman? What's all that crap about 'getting married only once'? You can get married as many times as you like, provided your partner dies or divorces you!"

Kiyoshi sunk lower in his chair.

"Don't mention that word, brain-of-a-T-Rex!"

"What word?" Rex asked.

"Divorce! Kiyoshi! Time to go!" Roman said peeking at his watch.

* * *

5 years later…

"Thanks for having me 'round, Rena!" Setsuko chirped as she kicked off her shoes.

Kiyoshi was currently on a business trip to Hong Kong. The momentum project had had a break through and was now in the process of being built. Now, many major cities across the globe wanted to buy this new way of energy. Kiyoshi had been very busy since the turning of the year. Rena hardly saw him anymore.

"It's fine! I've been so lonely over the past few weeks! It's not Kiyoshi's fault, but I do miss him…"

"Well, I'm glad I could come! Oh! I love this place, already!" Setsuko squealed as she saw the modern apartment. "So, when's Kiyoshi coming back?"

"He left yesterday afternoon and he should be back tomorrow evening."

"Ok! Hey, I brought over all those old films we made at Domino High! We are going to have an ultimate cringe fest!"

"Yay!" Rena said sarcastically. "How can you say that so happily?"

They stayed up late into the night watching old films and eating popcorn. Setsuko stayed the night in Rena's old room. Rena slept in her and Kiyoshi's double bed.

"Rena? It's morning! Wake up sleepy head!" Setsuko whispered, shaking Rena awake, the next morning. Rena groaned and curled up tighter.

"Setsuko, I don't feel great. I'll be down in a minute. You can find food in the fridge for breakfast. Don't worry about me."

Setsuko gave Rena a worrying glance, and then ran downstairs. A few minutes later, she came up with some cornflakes and milk for her ill friend. She looked around the room, only to find Rena wasn't there anymore.

Suddenly, she heard retching noises from the bathroom. Rena strolled out, a towel slung on her arm. She didn't look so green anymore.

"Feeling better?" Setsuko queried, feeling relieved. Rena nodded, smiling.

"Yeah, it's probably one of those tummy bugs. Oh, is that for me?"

Setsuko looked down at the tray of breakfast cereal.

"Yes, but it's probably not a good idea to eat it just after you-"

"Setsuko. I just hurled my guts up a few seconds ago and now I am starving!"

Rena wolfed down the cereal and gulped the juice down as if she was the hungriest woman alive. Grinning, she skipped down the stairs and into the kitchen.

"I feel like some pancakes…" Rena muttered, pulling the eggs out of the fridge. Setsuko's eyes grew wide.

"Pancakes? You just had cereal!"

"I'm perfectly aware of that, but now I want pancakes!"

Setsuko could only watch in awe as Rena made two pancakes. Then three. Then four. Then six. Then ten. She pulled chocolate sauce out from under the sink and pulled out a plate.

"Would you like one, Setsuko?" Rena asked innocently, gesturing to the frying pan. Setsuko nodded and helped herself to one of them. Rena sat down to eat the other nine.

"Honestly, I have no idea where this appetite came from but I am _starving_!" Rena muttered as she cut a generous piece of pancake and shoved it in her mouth. Setsuko sighed, it was going to be a very long day.

* * *

Kiyoshi let himself in the early evening. He managed to catch the early flight to Domino City and had arrived at the terminal three hours before arranged. He got a taxi back and had arrived home.

He sensed something was different the second he walked in. The spotless hallway reeked of pancake mix, pancakes and sushi. Not a nice combination.

He pinched his nose and hurried into the kitchen, wondering what his wife was up to now. Upon entering, he found Rena curled up on the sofa, eating a platter of thirty assorted pancakes and Setsuko sitting at the kitchen table, reading a magazine.

"Ummm… Hi girls?"

"Kiyoshi!" Rena screamed, practically rugby-tackling the poor man to the ground. "I've missed you so much!"

"I've not been gone very long, Rena!" Kiyoshi said, trying to maintain his balance. "Hey Setsuko."

"Hi Kiyoshi" she said, looking up.

"Kiyoshi! You don't have anymore trips do you? I don't want you to leave me again!" Rena wailed, refusing to stop hugging him.

"No, I don't" Kiyoshi wheezed, desperately trying to release his wife's vice grip. "Is something wrong, Rena?"

Rena giggled, relaxing her grip. "No nothings _wrong_. Everything is right! Excellent, in fact!"

"I'll be going now" Setsuko announced, getting up from the chair. "Hideo will be going nuts. See you!"

Setsuko walked down the hall and pulled on her shoes. Opening the door, she turned and smiled.

"Congratulations, you two" she said, shutting the door.

Kiyoshi looked at Rena, suspicious.

"Ok you! Spit it out! Whats going on?"

Rena smirked.

"Nothing! Do you want some pancakes?"

"How many pancakes have you eaten today?"

"I have no idea… Twenty? Maybe Thirty?"

Rena turned to go back to the stove and the over-worked frying pan. Kiyoshi watched her as she turned side-on to him, to flip a pancake. Kiyoshi suddenly let out a loud, amazed gasp, distracting Rena and caused her to miss the pancake. It hit the floor and spattered their shoes.

"Rena! You're… You're…!" Kiyoshi gasped, gaping at her like a fish.

"Oh!" Rena said, smiling at her husband. "BTW, I'm pregnant!"

"BTW? _BTW?!_ Only you can say it like that!" Kiyoshi said, running over to her and picking her up. "Oh my god! We're going to have a _child!"_

"No! 'We're' not. _I _am going to have the child! So, you have to be extra-specially-nice to me for six months! I'm gonna make another pancake!"

Kiyoshi, however, held her in a tight grip, refusing to let her go.

"You're three months gone? Already?"

"Yes! Well done, genius! Nine minus three is six! And it official! I crave pancakes! Now let me have one… Or five!" Rena said, in a mock angry tone.

"I love you, Rena" Kiyoshi whispered, pulling her closer, one hand resting on her slight bump.

"I would love you even more, if you would let me eat a pancake!" Rena muttered, desperately trying to reach for the whisk.

* * *

"It's a girl!" Kiyoshi said, in a positive tone, looking at Rena's quite large baby bump. He kissed it lightly, then returned to reading Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince (Kiyoshi had discovered he was dyslexic and now had help reading, resulting in it being much faster).

"No way! It's a boy!" Rena assured him, stroking her husband's hair. Kiyoshi's head was resting on her lap and she was resting a plate of pancakes on his chest. "How can you be so sure anyway, Kiyoshi? You've not been carrying this baby around for seven months!"

"All eldest children in the Fudo line are female!" Kiyoshi wailed.

"Wait! You have an older sister?"

"No. I'm an only child, I thought you knew that!"

"Then whats all this crap about the eldest being female?"

Kiyoshi shrugged.

"It skips a generation. So this baby is a girl!"

"No, something tells me it's a boy…"

Kiyoshi kissed the bump again, only to feel a quick, slight pressure on his nose.

"Rena! The baby kicked my nose!"

"I know I felt it. It's saying 'my daddy's an idiot! He thinks I'm a girl, but I'm a boy!'"

"Fine let's have a bet! £100 says that it's a girl!"

"£100 says it's a boy!"

They both shook hands, as confident as each other that, in a few small months they would be £100 richer.

* * *

Kiyoshi sunk down in his chair. Two hours to go until he could return to his wife. She was over due by a few days. Every second wasted at work, could be the second Rena went into labour. And as a result, Kiyoshi couldn't pay attention.

"Hey man, we know you're worried but could you at least have some lunch?" Rex asked, passing him a sandwich. Kiyoshi accepted it gratefully, nibbling on the corner.

Roman sighed, and threw a paper aeroplane at an apprentice. Then, the receptionist ran in, dragging the phone behind her.

"Dr. Fudo! Dr. Fudo! You have a call!"

Kiyoshi shot up in his seat. The whole lab went deadly silent. Not that Kiyoshi cared. It was as if his life depended on that white phone.

"Hello?" Kiyoshi whispered down the line. He looked like an upset two-year-old, unsure of what he did wrong.

"Kiyoshi Fudo? Your wife has had the child!"

Kiyoshi fell into his seat, realising his worries had been right. He had missed it. Probably one of the times his wife needed him the most.

And he hadn't been there.

Kiyoshi struggled to hold back a sob. "What? I thought the idea was that you called me just after it started! Not ended!"

"We're sorry sir. It was so quick; we didn't have time to get her to hospital. Very quick for a first child…"

"Well? What is it?"

"Do you not want to come and see for yourself?"

"No. Tell me now and I'll be over in five minutes."

The whole lab watched in anticipation as Kiyoshi's face lit up. He thanked the caller and slowly put down the receiver. Then, he started dashing around, filling his brief case with random paperwork and books.

He then started going through his pockets.

"I owe Rena £100, damn it!"

* * *

Rena held her baby close to her chest as she smiled down at him. Poor thing. He'd just gone through one of the most traumatic experiences of his life. On the upside, he wouldn't remember. At first, they thought he was blind because he didn't attempt to open his eyes. But eventually, he cracked open his huge, cobalt eyes… And then fell asleep.

Rena wished he could do a little bit more than cry and sleep.

Then an immense crashing could be heard from downstairs. Then loud running footsteps. And then someone jumping up the stairs, two at a time.

"Rena!" Kiyoshi cried, bursting through the door of their bedroom.

"SSSHHHHH!" You'll wake the poor thing!" Rena whispered, looking down at the sleeping blue bundle. "You owe me £100!"

"I know! I know! Awww, isn't he cute!" Kiyoshi cooed, taking the baby from his mother.

"We need to name him…" she whispered, sinking down in the sheets, exhausted.

"Don't look at me! I don't know!" Kiyoshi wailed, supporting the baby's head delicately.

"How was your day?" Rena asked, completely out-of-the-blue.

"Ummm… It was fine I guess. I finished the notes for my speech and I had to send someone packing… And then the Yusei gear arrived…"

"Yusei? Brilliant! I love it!"

"Love what? The Yusei gear? You helped design it!"

Rena however, wasn't paying the slightest bit of attention.

"Heya, baby Yusei! Isn't that such a good name for you! Wonderful!"

"You can't just call the baby that!"

"Yes, I can! Admit it! It suits him! Yusei Fudo!"

Kiyoshi looked at his son, who was currently snoring lightly.

"Happy Birthday, Yusei Fudo" he whispered, as the baby slept peacefully in his arms.

* * *

**Ok... I know that There is an immense time skip at the last few sections, but this is a seriously long one-shot. I also missed the wedding because i'll let you, the reader, imagine it yourself... And i deliberately skipped the birth of Yusei for pretty obvious reasons. I am so sorry it's this long, but the sections were too short to be a chapter! Please don't flame!**

**(*) British equivalent to college.**

**(*1) Thats the class of 15-16 year olds (sorry i don't understand the American 'Grade' scheme) **

**(*2) Wal-Mart of Britain (seriously, it says Wal-Mart underneath it)**

**(*3) Tesco is another big store. I don't know if you have them in America or not...**


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